Matthew McCabe is Navy Seal Charged for Punching Terrorist

Matthew McCabe is one of three Navy SEALs charged with punching a Fallujah, Iraq terrorist in the mouth and bloodying his lip, or "punching him in the gut" or both. Update 12-07-09 below.

McCabe is 24 years old. He enlisted in the Navy in 2003 and is originally from Perrysburg, Ohio. He is charged with offenses occuring around September 1st, of one count each of assault of the detainee, dereliction of duty, making a false official statement, and "willfully failing to safeguard a detainee." Update 12-07-09:

Ways you Can Help:

Lodge your protest at 813-828-4976
Email your protest to holly.silkman@soccent.centcom.mil

Mail your protest to US Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps
The office of the Judge Advocate General, Public Affairs
1322 Patterson Ave., Suite 3000
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5066

Other phone numbers:

Comm: 202-685-5493
Washington Navy Yard: 202-685-5190
Pentagon, Room 4C642: 703-614-7420

AJAG, Military Law: 1254 Charles Morris St., SE
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5047
Comm: 202-685-7053

This from a reader for donations to a defense fund:

"U.S.NavySEAL/Warrior Legal Defense Fund" acct. # 435020290711 c/o Bank of America, P.O. Box F, Fort Eustis, VA. 23604
Can contribute through any Bank of America. Also, paypal: http://sites.Google. com/site/usnavyseallegaldefencefund/

Not 501(c)(3), so not tax deductible

Ahmed Hashim Abed, known to the military as Obejctive Amber, is believed to have orchestrated the brutal attack on four Blackwater contractors delivering catering supplies to our military in Fallujah, Iraq. He was one of the most wanted insurgents in in Iraq before three Navy Seals, deployed in an elite commando unit, captured him.

Blackwater Hangings

The source said intelligence briefings provided to the SEALs stated that "Objective Amber" planned the 2004 Fallujah ambush, and "they had been tracking this guy for some time."

The Fallujah atrocity came to symbolize the brutality of the enemy in Iraq and the degree to which a homegrown insurgency was extending its grip over Iraq.

The four Blackwater agents were transporting supplies for a catering company when they were ambushed and killed by gunfire and grenades. Insurgents burned the bodies and dragged them through the city. They hanged two of the bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates River for the world press to photograph [see above in an AP photo].

One of the Blackwater contractors murder was a former Navy SEAL.

According CNN, the three SEALS refused a "nonjudicial resolution," to the charges, saying they wanted their names cleared and they did not harm the detainee in anyway. Their charges are said to equvalent to a "misdemeanor,: yet:

If found guilty, they could be sentenced to a maximum of a year in a military prison, demotion to the lowest Navy rank, a cut in pay and a bad conduct discharge.

But if found innocent of all charges, they would be able to continue their careers with no record of the case in their personnel files.

The three SEALs are with their unit in Norfolk, Virginia. They will make an initial appearance before a military judge on December 7. The court-martial is scheduled to begin in January.

The attorney said he expects the SEALs will not waive their constitutional right to confront the accuser in court, which could cause a logistical challenge. Abed is believed to be in a U.S. military detention center overseas, and it is unclear if the military would want him brought to the United States for the court-martial.

Certainly, there is no similarity to the the punishment brought by a civilian misdemeanor.

The men charged are assigned to SEAL Team 10, based in Little Creek, Virginia. Also charged are Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2 and Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1.

 Update 12-07-09:

Neal Puckett, the attorney for Matthew McCabe appeared on FOXNews on November 28th. Some remarks and a video below:

Neil Puckett states that McCabe “has a completely clean record.  In fact, he was onto a sterling career as a SEAL, as were his other two SEALs.”  Puckett also wants to know “if the service is going to bring this terrorist to the courtroom in Norfolk so that we can have our 6th Amendment rights to confrontation of his accuser?”

 Neal Puckett - Matthew McCabe (video)

Related:

Julio Huertas is Navy SEAL charged in punching a terrorist incident

Jonathan Keefe is Navy SEAL charged in punching a terrorist incident